Lookout announces “Mobile Lost and Found”

Lookout, the guys behind some of our favorite mobilesecurity apps, have just released some pretty troubling data. This time we’re not talking about malware or other threats of that nature. Nope, now we’re discussing your missing mobile phones. Did you know that lost mobile handsets will cost U.S. consumers more than $30 billion this year alone? Yikes!

After helping more than 9 million people recover their lost smartphones last year, Lookout is ready to go the extra mile. Today sees them announcing a new website called Mobile Lost and Found. The aim here is to educate users as to when and where phones are left behind or lost.

Using anonymous data collected across 15 million worldwide users, Lookout is able to help you better understand the alarming trend of misplaced smartphones. Thanks to Foursquare’s API and some crafty coding, we can get a much clearer look at where we are likely to leave our Android’s behind. If anything, we learn where to be careful with our phones and which cities are the toughest on us.

Lookout Projects Lost and Stolen Phones Could Cost U.S. Consumers Over $30 Billion in 2012

Lookout Study Identifies Top U.S. Cities for Phone Loss: Philadelphia, Seattle and Oakland

San Francisco — March 22, 2012 — Lookout, the global leader in mobile security, today released findings from the first-ever phone loss study, which revealed that lost phones, if unrecovered, could cost U.S. consumers over $30 billion this year. As part of the study, Lookout today released the Mobile Lost & Found, an interactive website for people to discoverthe places where phones are most often lost, the likelihood of losing a phone by region, and the financial impact of lost phones.

Lookout’s data analysis from more than 15 million users found that regional location and behavior are the largest factors influencing phone loss. Over the course of 2011, Lookout located 9 million lost smartphones, which equals one phone every 3.5 seconds. In total, Lookout found that U.S consumers lose their phone about once a year. If uncovered, that could cost smartphone users upwards of $300 a year.

“Each day, $7 million worth of phones are lost by Lookout users alone, and if unrecovered, it would take a significant toll not only on our wallets, but on our psyche too,” said Kevin Mahaffey, co-founder and CTO Lookout. “Safeguarding your smartphone starts with protecting it from the number one risk you face – losing it.”

People in some U.S. cities have a higher chance of losing their phone: Philadelphia residents lose their phone three times more than New York City dwellers, while San Franciscans and New Yorkers lose their phones three times more than Chicagoans.

Lookout determined the top ten cities in the U.S. for phone loss during 2011, inconveniencing residents’ daily lives and resulting in financial losses:

Philadelphia

Seattle

Oakland

Long Beach

Newark

Detroit

Cleveland

Baltimore

New York

Boston

Interestingly, many of the cities with highest rates of lost and stolen phones also were in the top ranks for the FBI’s most recent crime statistics. Cleveland, Detroit, Oakland and Newark, were amongst the 10 cities with the highest crime rates in the U.S.

Lookout also discovered that specific locations invited loss more than others, with coffee shops and bars topping the list. In addition, people lose their phone most often at night, between the hours of 9 p.m. and 2 a.m.

The top ten places for lost or stolen phones in the U.S. were:

Coffee Shop

Bar

Office

Restaurant

Apartment & Condo

Grocery Store

Gas Station

Residential

Pharmacy or Drug Store

Park

As part of the study, Lookout unveils interesting findings on where phones are lost in specific cities, shedding insights into the character of each:

In Chicago, the 3rd most common venue to lose your phone is a church.

In New York City, the top place to lose your phone is a fast food restaurant.

In San Francisco, the leading venue to lose your phone is a coffee shop.

Lookout’s Mobile Lost & Found data is based on Lookout’s more than 15 million global users. The findings in Lookout’s Mobile Lost & Found are based on anonymized phone “locates” data performed by Lookout’s 15 million global users in 2011. Lookout Mobile Security has users around the world who use the Lookout application to locate their lost or stolen device. To determine popular venues where phones were lost in cities across the globe, the study used the FourSquare API. Each “locate” was mapped by FourSquare’s API to a venue type closest to the lost phone’s location.

About Lookout Mobile Security

Lookout is a mobile security company dedicated to making the mobile experience safe for everyone. Lookout delivers award-winning protection from the growing threats facing mobile users today, including malware, phishing, privacy violations, data loss, and loss of the phone itself. Cross-platform, Lookout is designed from the ground up to provide advanced mobile protection while remaining lightweight and efficient on the phone. With 15 million users across 400 mobile networks in 170 countries, Lookout is the world leader in smartphone security. Headquartered in San Francisco, Lookout is funded by Accel Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, Index Ventures, Khosla Ventures and Trilogy Equity Partners. For more information and to download Lookout, please visit www.mylookout.com.

Note for all readers

Hi Friends,

My Name is Rajesh and I am a technology expert/consultant. Most of my time was devoted towards the Open Source community and till sometime back I used to be a regular contributor to the community. I have also worked on various other technologies apart from Open Source. My other areas if interest is towards Photography, Driving, Traveling, Cooking (I will be writing some blog on this :)) and motivational speaking/guiding.

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